Negligee-shirt press



June 8 1926.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 s izzzfezzzar. f

D. H. BENJAMIN NEGLIGEE SHIRT PRESS Original Filed Feb. 23 1917 June 8Q1926 D. H. BENJAMIN NEGLIGEE SHIRT PRESS Original Filed Feb. 23 1917 4Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 D. H. BENJAMIN NEGLIGEE SHIRT PRESS IJune 8 1926.

Original Filed Feb. 23 1917 June 8 192%.

H. BENJAMEN NEGLIGEE SHIRT PRESS Original Filed Feb.

23 1917 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 @muk Patented June 8, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

DANA II. BENJAMIN, or CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, onIo, AssIGNoD. TO THE AMERICANLAUNDRY MACHINERY COMPANY, or CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION orNEGLIGEE-SHIRT PRESS.

Application fi led February 23, 1917, Serial NOHINLQBB. Renewed.Deoember9, 1921. Serial No. 521,249.

This invention relates toshirt pressing machines, and more particularly'to ma chines for pressing negligee or soft shirts. The object of theinvention is to provide an improved machine which enables a negligee orsoft shirt to be folded into final form or shape, and while stretchedand held in proper position, to be pressed as a whole,-

I with pressing means which will not lnjure the shirt buttons and willimprove the appearance of the entire shirt.- A further object of theinventionis to provide automatically actuated means for returning one ormore operating members associated with the bed to normal position uponmovement of the bed relative to the. head, to avoid damage to the partsand for other reasons as will appear. U 1

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and.in part willappear more in detail hereinafter.

The invention comprises the shirt pressing machine hereinafter describedand claimed.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 represents a front view of one form of machineembodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the workholding tables or pressing members, with a. shirt clamped in positionthereon; Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof, broken awayto expose the severallayers; Fig. 4 is'an end view from the left in Fig. 3; Fig. 5'is anendview from the right in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a detail plan view showing amodification; Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the neckband former; Fig.8 is a plan view, on a reduced scale, of the stationary pressing member;and Fig. 9 is a similar view of the hair pin form on which the shirt isdressed.

The pressing machine shown in the draw-.

ings comprises a suitable frame 1 having a hollow base 2, and uprights3, 4, and across head 5. Said cross head supports a stationary pressingmember 6, which is referably a hollow cast metal member aving an innerheating chamber connected to a source of heatsuch as the steam pipe 7.

Said member is of substantially rectangu lar shape but is provided atone end with a large recess 8 to receive and embrace the shirt neckband,as will later appear, and with twosmall recesses 9 in its lower face,one on each edge, and on its opposite end carries a rigid arm 10provided with two friction rollers 11 for a purpose which will appearhereafter. I

The upright 3 is a shaft which serves as a support for a rotatable frame12 which turns freely on said shaft andhas oppo sitely extending arms 13which support ,two identical work carrying tables and pressing membersindicated at 14, and description of one of which will suffice for both.Each table comprises a body memher 15 having a heavy stem or shaft 16slidable vertically in a sleeve 17 of an arm 13 and held from rotatingrelative to the swinging frame 12 by a guide pin 18.

Directly beneath the'stationary pressing member-6 the hollow base isprovided with a vertically slidable actuating plunger 19. When eitherwork table is brought to position under the pressing member 6 its'stem16 is directly over the plunger 19 and by" elevating the plunger thework table or lower pressing member is moved into pressing relation withthe upper member. Any

suitable means may be employed for operating plunger 19, such as atreadle lever or like mechanism or a suitable fluid pressure actuateddevice. As shown theplunger 19 is connected to a piston working in acyl- 'inder 21 to which fluid pressure, such as compressed air or steamorwater or oil under pressure may be supplied by a pipe 22- Suitablemeans is provided, such as the spring pressed latch 23 controlled bytreadle 24, for locking the frame 12 in either of its two workingpositions with the lower pressing memberaccurately and properly locatedbeneath the upper or stationary member 6. The body member 15 of eachlower pressing member carries a flat table portion 25,

.of rectangular form, whose upper surface is coveredby a suitableyielding cushion or pad which may consist, for example, of one or morelayers 26 of sponge rubber and a cloth cover 27, and on which the shirtto be pressed is laid.

" a body posed sur ace of the shirt.

ing operation, while another attendant will Each merely manipulate themachine. form is made of a flat thin metal-sheet having ortion 28 aboutas large or a little larger t an the neckband and two narrow spaced arms29 whose outer edges are straight and parallel. The sides of the shirtare folded back around these arms and the shirt tails are folded backand up around "expander, of proper size, is introduced into.

its neckband opening. This former may be of any suitable shape andformand, as shown, is a self contained portable device which is connected toa part of the machine in use but is not permanently 'attached thereto.[It comprises two members 30 and 31 slidably connected by guide pins 32and normally held expanded by the springs 33. By pressing the partstogether the former can be readily introduced into the neckband andexpands to fill the same. One of the, parts of the former, such as part31, is provided with suitable means, such as the oles 34, to receivepins 35 on an arm 36 loosely ivoted upon a shaft 37 carried in thebearlngs on the body member 15. When the shirt is laid in position thisarm is brought down to engage the pins in the holes, which correctly andexactly locate the shirt on the board so as to be in proper position tobe pressed, relative to the recess 8, when the board is moved toco-operative relation with the stationary pressing member. Upon theshirt is then placed a press plate 38, which is a thin metal platehaving one end cut out in U shape to fit around the shirt neckband. Thisplate is preferably a loose part laid by hand on the shirt and is largeenou h tocompletely cover all the ex I Said plate is then pressed downagainst the neckband end of the shirt to clamp said end of the shirtsecurely to the board. This .is accomplished by two arms 39 having endextensions 4O projecting laterally over the edges of the plate, andwhich arms are carried by the shaft 37. Said shaft is provided with anarm 41 connected through the compression spring 42 to a link 43pivotally connected to an arm 44 carried by a shaft 45 which may beoscillated by an operating arm,

46. By pushing back on said operating arm the extensions 40 are forceddown on the plate by yielding pressure to clamp the shirt. Arm 46carries a pivoted latch 47 whose inner end travels over a stationarycurved abutment 48 and in clamping po sition drops in behind a stopprojection 49 thereon, from which it may be released by pressing thepivoted release lever 50 whose lower end depresses a sliding pin 51engagingthe outer end of the latch 47.

In the form shown in Fig. 1, the plate 38 has lateral extensions 38which are introduced into wide slots 39 in the arms '39, so that theplate is carried by the arms and need not be removed therefrom, but ismerely lifted up from the shirt by tilting the arms 39. The wide slots39 enable the plate to have an equalizing movement relative to arms 39in moving to parallel clamping position on the board. Fig. 6 showsanother arrangement in which the plate 38 is free of connection to thearms 39 and is bodily removed from the board each time a shirt isremoved therefrom and is reapplied to the next shirt to be pressed.

The shirt, having been clamped at its neckband end, as described, is nowstretched longitudinally. For this purpose a stiff flat blade or-bar 52,which may he a narrow sheet metal strip, is passed through the foldedtail of the shirt, said bar-being of a length such that its ends projectbeyond the lateral edges of the shirt board. The ends of said bar areengaged by the hooked ends 53 of sliding rods 54 carried by arms 55 on ashaft 56. Compression springs 57 hold thehooks 53 yieldably down towardthe board but allow them to move when the shaft 56is oscillated. Eacharm 55 is connected by a pivoted link 58to a short arm 59 on a shaft 60which may be oscillated by a lever 61 whose outer end 62 is threadedinto its body 63 and may be turned to force a shoe 64 against anabutment 65 to clamp and hold the parts in any adjusted position,thereby holding the stretching tension applied to the shirt.

When the shirt is fully dressed and stretched on the board, asdescribed, the lock release treadle 24 is depressed and the frame 12 isrotated in the direction of the arrow A, Fig. 1, to bring the dressedboard into position beneath the heated head. The locking device 23engages the frame and looks it in its new position. If either the arm 36or the arms 39 have been left in raised position either accidentally orfor any other reason, said arms engage one or the ther of the rollers 11in moving to new position and are depressed thereby, so that 'no damageto the machine can occur. When the board is in its new position theplunger 19 is elevated to bring the board and shirt into pressingrelation with the heated head, during which movement the arm extensionsenter the recesses 9 of the heated press head. The shirt need not bemoistened and no steam need be applied to it, but the ironing pressuremaintained for a sutticient period, say thirty seconds, will iron outall wrinkles and produce a neat smooth appearance over the entire shirt.The release of the shirt from the clamping and ironing devices requiresno description.

The machine is of simple form, can be readily operated, and has a largeoutput. It materially reduces the cost of ironing negligee shirts andimproves their appearance.

What T claim is 1. A skeleton form on which shirts are dressed whilepressing the same in a pressing machine, said form having a base or bodyportion adapted to lie under the shirt yoke and parallel side edgeportions, the central portion of said form being open.

2. A pressing machine, comprising relativelymovable upper and lowerpressing members, a skeleton form on which the shirt is dressed, saidform having an open central portion and parallel side edgessubstantially co-extensive with the length of the exposed bosom portionof the shirt, 'a plate applied to the exposed face of the shirt, meansfor clamping the neckband end of said plate to the lower pressingmembers, a neck band former, and means engaging said former from abovethe same for holding it in position on the lower pressing member.

3. A pressing machine, comprising relatively movable upper and lowerpressing members, a skeleton form on whichthe shirt is dressed, saidform having an open central portion and parallel side edgessubstantially co-extensive with the length of the exposed bosom portionof the shirt, a plate applied to the exposed face of the shirt, meansindependent of the upper pressing member for clamping the neckband endof said plate to the lower pressing member, means for stretching theshirt from its other end, a

. neckband former, and means engaging said former from above the samefor holding it in position on the lower pressing member.

4. A pressing machine, comprising an ironing bed having an uninterruptedwork receiving surface, means for locating a shirt comprising an armmovable relative to said bed and in operative position lying above saidbed and in a definite location relative thereto and a self-containedneckband former adapted for releasable connection with said arm and whenconnected thereto to locate a shirt on the bed, and a. co-operatingpressing head having a recess adapted to register with said neckbandformer when the latter is connected to said arm and lying in position onsaid bed.

5. A pressing machine, comprising an ironing bed having an uninterruptedwork ,ceive the neckband former and adapted to be manually registeredtherewith.

6. A pressing machine, comprising an ironing bed having an uninterruptedwork receiving surface, means for locating a shirt comprising an armmovable relative to said bed and in operative position lying above saidbed and in a definite location relative thereto and a self-containedneckband former adapted for releasable connection with said arm andwhenconnected thereto to locate a shirt on the bed, a co-operating pressinghead having a recess adapted to register with said neckband former whenthe latter is connected to said arm and lying in position on said bed, aself-contained flexible ironing plate having a recess to receive theneckband former and adapted to be manually registered therewith, andmeans for clamping the neckband end of said plate to said board toenable the shirt to be stretched from its tail end.

7. A pressing machine, comprising relatively movable pressing head andbed members, the bed member being adapted to receive a garment to bepressed and provided with an operating member movable to operative andinoperative positions, and means on the head member adapted uponrelative movement between the head and bed members to move saidoperating member to operative position. In testimony whereof I affix mysignature.

'DANA H. BENJAMIN.

